Me? or Tennis?
by StoryReader888
Summary: Choutarou Ootori is dating the princess of Hyotei and everything seems perfect. But what happens when she makes him choose between her or the sport he loves? Which one will he choose?


**Warning(s):**

Original Character

Third Person

Mild Cussing

Slight Angst

* * *

><p>Jory watched the young Ootori and his girlfriend with disdain. She didn't want to sound like a jealous ex or a psycho fan or anything like that, but she knew that Anju was not good enough for the younger boy. She was selfish, greedy, and loved to be adored by everyone - mostly boys. She was always flirting with other guys behind Choutarou's back. She's even hit on the other members of the team. Jory couldn't lie and say she was ugly, though, because that just wasn't the case.<p>

Anju Satori was a beautiful ninth grader. Her hair shimmered a dark red and her eyes were the color of chocolates. Her skin was tan and she had no imperfections. She was known as one of the most beautiful girls in Hyotei Gakuen, and everyone knew who she was. She was the head cheerleader for their American Football team and vice-president of her class. To add to that, she had a pedigree. She was a full-blood rich bitch, descending from a line so rich, there hasn't been a single person in her entire family that ever owned less than 100,000 dollars at a time. If only her attitude could match her beauty, she'd be one hell of a package.

Her attitude was horrible, though. She was stuck up and snobby, believing that everyone - Atobe included - was beneath her. She truely believed that she was better than everyone else, in _every _way. She expected people to bow and bend to her every command. And why wouldn't she expect that, when everyone had been doing just that since the day she was born? Noone had ever turned down Princess Anju. To put things bluntly, she was a hundred times worse than the king of Hyotei.

Anju always got what she wanted. Which is why she was now hanging off of Choutarou's arm, a manicured hand pressed to her mouth as she laughed at something Shishido had said - which, according to his expression, was not meant to be funny. The whole of the Hyotei tennis team thought that she was a good match for Choutarou, that they were perfect, that _she _was perfect. But Shishido wouldn't be fooled, and neither would Jory. They could see through Anju as if she were a piece of glass. They knew she was using Choutarou, and cheating on him behind his back.

But what could they do? What could they say?

Shishido was Choutarou's best friend. He had the obligation to inform him of his cheating girlfriend. But he had no proof, and didn't want his best friend to hate him. Ryo was torn.

Jory, on the other hand, had no problem acting on her feelings. She was blunt, and didn't think twice about who she hurt. But she did have her own sense of honor. She was neither Choutarou's friend nor teammate. Hell, she didn't even go to the same school. She had no right to interfere in his love life. And if she did, she'd simply sound like a jealous fangirl. Jory wouldn't get involved.

Atleast, she wouldn't until she was brought into it by the very same boy she had grown attatched to.

_**Me? or Tennis?**_

Choutarou wiped the sweat from his forehead as he headed toward the showers. He paused when he saw his girlfriend leaning against the wall of the building, a sour look on her porcelain face. He smiled as he approached, but it fell when she narrowed her chocolate eyes at him.

"You were supposed to meet me twenty minutes ago," her voice was controlled. It was unladylike to lose her temper in public, as her mother had repeated for many years.

"I-I'm sorry, Anju-chan." he bowed his head, his reddish-brown eyes on the grass beneath him. "Me and Shishido-san were in the middle of a match. It lasted alot longer than I thoug - "

"I don't care," she snapped, her red hair bouncing with the movement of her head. "I don't care about your match. I don't care about your friend. And I certainly do not care about tennis."

"Demo - "

"No! **I** am supposed to come first on your list, Choutarou! **Me**! I come before anything else, especially some foolish sport." she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You need to get your priorities straight!"

_It's not a foolish sport!_, he wanted to say. But he knew better. Anju was not a person to argue with.

"Now listen here, Ootori Choutarou," she continued, pushing away from the wall and standing tall infront of him. Of course, being as tall as he was, she just reached his chest. But that didn't matter. Her brown eyes bore into his own with a fierceness he didn't know a young girl could possess. "You have a choice to make. **Me or tennis**."

His eyes widened, the towel slipping from his grasp and falling to the ground without a sound. How could she possibly ask him such a thing? He couldn't give up tennis, not after everything he had gone through. He loved tennis, he loved playing doubles with Shishido more than anything in the world. But... he cared deeply about Anju. He loved her. He didn't want to lose her.

"I'll be waiting for your decision." she snarled in his ear before brushing past him, knocking his shoulder roughly with her own.

Choutarou didn't get his bag. He didn't change and he didn't shower. He ran. He ran as fast as his long legs would take him. The park was where he ended up. The park was situated inbetween his own school and Seishun Gakuen. They were a ways away from one another, but the park was the middle ground.

He was thankful that the park was nearly empty. He was thankful to get a bench to himself under the shade of a towering tree. He was thankful that he hadn't started to cry. Anju's words were swirling around in his mind. He felt dizzy, like the world was spinning out of control around him. His heart was beating painfully in his chest and his head felt like it was splitting in two.

Tennis was just a hobby, something he did because he loved it.

Anju Satori was for forever... right?

"You look out of it,"

He gasped, his head snapping around to the person that had spoken. He didn't know her personally, all he knew was that she attended Rikkaidai and was the cousin of one of the students at Seigaku. He didn't know her name, and had never actually spoken to her before. But he knew who she was. She was hard to forget. Her hair was as black as a raven, her eyes a dark shade of purple that seemed black unless she was in bright lighting. She was as blank as a piece of paper, and her skin was abnormally pale and she didn't show much emotion, and always wore baggy clothes and chains.

She was a complete and total tomboy, and a badass to boot. She disobeyed rules, believing they were meant to be broken. She never spoke with respect, and often resorted to cussing to highlight her words. Black jeans that barely managed to stay on her, covered in chains and a bullet belt. Black fingernail polish and a thin black choker. A black hoodie and white and black skull sneakers. She was different from any girl he had ever run into. But he could tell that she wasn't a bad person. Just.. misunderstood in a lot of ways.

She moved forward, sitting down on his right and staring up at the baby blue sky, which was slowly changing to a pale shade of orange, like sherbert. She placed her right ankle on her left knee and glanced at him. "Got something on your mind, kid?"

Choutarou returned his gaze to the ground, his fingers playing nervously with the hem of his tennis shirt. Could he confide in her? Could he plague her with his problems? He couldn't be considerate, the decision was just too much. "H-Hai,"

"Well? What is it?" she turned to him. Her face was still blank, but her eyes were kind and inviting.

"M-My girlfriend isn't happy with me at the moment,"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, I..." he played with his fingers, swallowing hard. "I left her waiting for me. I promised I'd meet her, but practice went on a little longer than I expected..."

"She got mad at you for that?" Jory raised an eyebrow.

"Hai,"

"Well that's stupid. Not like you could help it,"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I could of called her..."

"The hell you gonna call someone in the middle of a match?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Che. And?"

He chewed on his lip. If he said it outloud, would he break down? Would he break down infront of this person whom he had never even spoken to before? Would she laugh at him and call him a wimp? A child? She was older than him, afterall...

Jory watched him carefully, taking in all of the little habits he was performing, from the twiddling of his fingers to the look in his eyes, and the way he chewed on his bottom lip like it was a piece of meat. Just what had that girl done to him?

"She said I had to get my priorities straight," he said finally, letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "She said I had to choose..."

"Between?"

"Her... or tennis,"

Jory's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger. She fought the growl that threatened to errupt in her throat. How could she make such a sweet, innocent boy make such a decision? He was still a kid, he shouldn't have to make a decision like that! "Fucking bitch," she muttered under her breath.

Choutarou paid it no mind. "I... I don't know what to do. I've put so much into my tennis, me and Shishido-san both! Demo... I really love Anju-chan..."

"Love?" she repeated before letting out a bark of laughter. "What the hell do you know about love, kid?"

He pouted, turning to look at her.

She grinned. "Trust me, you don't love her."

"What do you mean?" he blinked.

"Call it a sixth sense," she paused. "Is she your first?"

"First?"

"Girlfriend,"

"Oh. Hai."

"Exactly. You're not in love, Choutarou. It's just that puppy-love that people experience when they start dating someone for the first time. You're still just a kid, inexperienced and innocent. Trust me on this."

Rather than feeling insulted, it felt as if her words made sense. "What should I do?"

"You can't ask me that."

"Huh?" he blinked.

"I can't tell you what to do. Only you can decide that. But I can give you advice," she stood up, moving to stand infront of him, her dark eyes piercing his own. He felt uncomfortable under her piercing stare, but he didn't dare look away. "If she truely cared about you, **she wouldn't make you choose**. Good luck, Choutarou."

Before she could fully walk away, Choutarou jumped up. "Matte! You know my name.. can I know yours?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "Jory. Fuji Jory."

He watched her until he couldn't see her anymore, and then plopped back down onto the bench, with his senpai's words running through his mind. It took him a while, but his mind was made up. "Yosh!" he stood up, determination burning through his normally soft red-brown orbs.

_**Make Your Choice.**_

Anju was standing by the tennis courts, awaiting her boyfriend. She bore a smug look on her face, as if she knew what he had chosen. Her smirk grew when he approached her, but it slowly slipped away when she saw him dressed in his tennis uniform.

"Choutarou,"

"Anju-senpai,"

Her eye nearly twitched. He had dropped the '-chan' from her name. "Well? Have you come to a decision?"

"I have," his grip on his tennis bag increased as he remembered what Jory had said to him the night before. He stared into her eyes, feeling a new wave of confedence hit him. "I choose tennis."

"What?" she shrieked in disbelief, earning the attention of the regulars and their fans. Everyone turned to the pair, but she didn't notice. She was too angry. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"Hai,"

"You!" she growled, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. "You don't deserve to be with someone as incredible as me! I'm too good for you!"

"Actually, I think you have that backwards."

Everyone's attention turned to the girl who had just entered the scene. Fuji Jory of Rikkaidai Fuzoku stood nearby, her face blank as she stared at the younger girl.

"Nani?" Anju hissed, turning her flashing brown eyes onto the intruder.

"Hard of hearing? Or just stupid?" she nearly grinned at the shriek the princess released. "You claim that Choutarou doesn't deserve you, but it's **you** who doesn't deserve **him**. Choutarou is too good for you, and deserves a hell of alot better."

"How dare you!"

"Che. You have no right to make Choutarou choose between you and something he's set his heart into. That right there is a red flag."

"What?" Shishido looked inbetween the Rikkaidai student and the so-called princess. "What's she talking about?"

"You didn't know?" Jory raised a brow, glancing at the brunette. "She gave Choutarou a choice. Her or tennis."

"What?" Shishido growled, narrowing his dark brown eyes at the red-head.

"Anyway, we all know you aren't good enough. Choutarou realizes that now, to. So, Shishido - " he looked up at her, anger flashing through his eyes. " - Don't you have something to say to Hyotei's little princess?"

"Yeah," Shishido smirked, approaching the red-head before chewing her out. Noone had ever seen Shishido that angry before, not even Choutarou. But he was happy, because Shishido was doing it for him, because of him. He caught Jory's gaze, sending her a smile.

She smiled back, nodding in approval before turning and leaving the scene.

_Thank you.. Jory-chan_.


End file.
